Surviving Halloween, One Tip at a Time

A holiday that revolves around hoarding candy and eating as much of it as possible? Sounds like a healthy eater's worst nightmare.

Halloween needn't be a scary time--even with all that candy lying around the house.

One of our favorite blogs, FitSugar, has a Halloween survival guide. Her best advice: Give out candy you don't like. Then you won't eat it!

I live in an urban neighborhood where we get no trick-or-treaters, so I never have to worry about candy lying around. How do you cope with Halloween candy? Do you buy candy you won't eat? Get rid of the extras? Buy it at the last minute?

Which candy will you give out this year?

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Comments

I USED TO GIVE OUT NICKELS AND THEN DIMES. WHEN THE NUMBERS GREW WE DID THE CANDY TREATS BUT I DID NOT FEEL GOOD DOING IT. SO WHEN THE NUMBERS GREW TO 400 KIDS A NIGHT WE DECIDED TO GO TO THE MOVIES. KIDS ARE BROUGHT IN TO OUR AREA IN MINIVANS AND CARLOADS. SO WE JUST LEAVE THESE DAYS. THAT SOLVES THE TREAT PROBLEM.
- 10/18/2010 6:32:25 PM

I will not be buying any candy this year. I don't think I bought any last year. If I did it was only a little. I used to buy it as soon as it appeared on sale on supermarket shelves but now I ask myself:

Will I feel better after eating that candy? NO Will I crave more and more after eating that candy? YES Will eating that candy benefit my body? NO Do I want to continue losing weight? Of course!

Now, I can walk by the candy without a thought. Well, somedays I'm stronger than others but I have a rule that I will not break: I do not buy candy!

(If I really crave something sweet I'll make a fruit smoothie or I'll have 1/3 to 1 oz. of dark choc. from Trader Joe's with 70% or preferably higher cocoa content.)

I think children really love to dress up for Halloween. If we could provide healthier alternatives than handing out candy we should do that. I know one family who has a party sans candy for their children and friends of their children.
- 10/18/2010 9:52:44 AM

Few trick or treaters this year again. My wife kept telling me to conserve, but I wanted to make sure we got rid of it ALL. We still did not. I did counsel my children on PORTION CONTROL.
- 11/2/2009 9:48:42 AM

After we go Trick-or-Treating, my daughter and I sit on the front room floor and dump out our buckets and sorth thru our candy and trade for our favorites (like she likes regular M&M's and I prefer the Peanut ones - so we swap ^.^)... all the stuff we both don't like, goes into a bag for my parents' candy bowl - if I don't like it, I won't eat it ^.^
- 11/8/2008 7:10:23 PM

I went out at the last minute and bought two bags. One of snack pack m&ms and one of mini tootsie pops. We didn't get one trick or treater until about 8:20 pm and there were 6 of them at the door at once when we opened it. I'll bet those kids thought they'd hit the mother load 'cause I was handing out the biggest handfuls I could grab to get rid of as much as I could. I had candy hitting the ground 'cause I couldn't hold on to all of it. LOL
- 11/1/2008 9:11:00 AM

We don't celebrate Halloween because we believe it is a celebration of evil things and is a form of Satanic worship. Therefore Halloween is not a problem because I don't buy candy to give out. However, because I have a sweet tooth, I try to include some candy in my calorie count and I limit myself to no more than 100 cals worth. That way I don't deny myself something I like.
- 10/31/2008 11:52:27 AM

I was grocery shopping at Kroger on Wednesday and decided to get stuff for trick or treaters while I was there...I was thinking "hmmmm, what won't I eat before Friday night??" when I found a bag of 50 little Halloween toys - spider rings, glow in the dark skeletons, ghost finger puppets, rubber bats, etc. It was on sale too! So, no problems - can't eat those!! :)
- 10/31/2008 8:29:38 AM

We get lots of trick-or-treaters on Halloween. I bought about 100 full sized candy bars of assorted kinds which will hopefull all go to the kids. I'm just hoping I have enough! Whatever we don't give away goes to work with me to share with co-workers. Previous years I gave out lunch sized bags of chips and cheetos, etc. I am not tempted by those. Last year we gave out light sticks along with candy. The kids loved them.
- 10/31/2008 7:03:58 AM

I am not much of a candy eater anymore. I don't have to worry about the trick or treaters because I leave and go have dinner out with my family. My house looks like the haunted one you don't want to go to no lights on nothing.
- 10/30/2008 8:10:50 AM

I am not at home for Halloween, because I am trick-or-treating with my daughter, but for the few kids that come by when we're home, I bought candy that I don't particularly care for (Almond Joys are my weakness!). That will make it easier to resist temptation. My daughter picked out a small decorative box, and whatever candy does not fit in there, she will get rid of. And she's stingy, so I won't get any of what she saves! :)
- 10/29/2008 10:57:45 AM

I just saw a commercial yesterday for PlayDoh trick or treat packs!! I don't know how much or how many in the bag, but it looked like a really awesome thing to hand out - what kid wouldn't love getting that?? Heck, I'D enjoy it! :)
- 10/29/2008 8:18:35 AM

Don't nuy it till the last min. for me!! BUT i do have kids and there will be plenty more after!! BUT, I am like TARAS2009 I don't eat it cuz I can't stop!!! BUT, I will THINK before and make my best choice, remember how I feel if I do eat too many pices and i fI do want one I make my best cal. choice and count it. I don't belive in denying yourself anthing. EVERYTHING in moderation and keep moving and you will be fine!! :)
- 10/29/2008 7:47:40 AM

Well we do not have tricker treaters as we live in a gated apartment complex but that does not stop my husband! He bought a bag of candy two weeks ago and it is almost gone. Mostly by him, luckily, although I have eaten everything else in the house! I have learned to stay away from the candy because once I start I absolutely cannot stop, so I do not even touch it.
- 10/28/2008 7:10:40 PM

In our small town, there's few streetlights or sidewalks, so our trick-or-treating is done on about 6 blocks of main street downtown, from business to business. It's a HUGE event, tons of people, lots of fun... and I don't have to buy any candy, which is a bonus! Of course, my daughter still brings some home, and I try to just exercise my willpower and only have one small piece as a treat each day. Actually, what's much harder for me is avoiding the candy bowls that every business in town seems to have out at this time of year: the bank, the retail shops, the pet food store... they're everywhere!
- 10/28/2008 6:55:03 PM

I plan to ignore the doorbell. I may even disconnect it (been thinking about doing that anyway). Most of the trick or treating will be down by the time I get home from work. So, will I be buying candy? No! In the past I've handed out dimes or quarters instead.
- 10/28/2008 4:23:09 PM

Since it is just myself and my (3yo) daughter, we will be out trick-or-treating ourselves and won't be handing out candy. Neither of us really eat that much candy, so it isn't a big concern for me -- last week, we went to our local shopping Mall's indoor trick-or-treat from store-to-store, and she ended up just giving most of the candy to her friends. She just enjoyed the going door-to-door part and getting to wear a costume!
- 10/28/2008 3:59:54 PM

I always say that I'm a salty/crunchy eater but when Halloween rolls around I eat all kinds of junk. We have a 5 year old and a 2 yo so I bought Play-Doh to give out and I'm going to limit how many houses we hit for trick or treating. Kids get so much sugar in their regular diets these days (juice boxes, processed foods etc.) that I just can't bring myself to hand out even more sweet treats. Hopefully I won't have to get too sneaky getting my kids' loot out of the house.
- 10/28/2008 3:14:48 PM

I live in a security building so they don't allow the kids to trick-or-treat so I don't have to buy candy. The management usually throws a party for the kids in the main office with candy, games and prizes for cotumes.
- 10/28/2008 3:02:12 PM

i buy up alot of my favorite halloween candy because i keep it for me. i can stop at one funsize bar or bag but cant if i open an regular size one so for me it is portion control at its finest!!
- 10/28/2008 2:27:54 PM

We give small bags of pretzels and animal crackers to the trick-or-treaters. We don't often have leftovers, but at least this way if there are, the treats are relatively healthy. Our kids are grown and on their own, so they no longer bring candy into the house from their Halloween rounds.
- 10/28/2008 1:01:11 PM

Our family tradition is to go to grandma's neighborhood for trick or treating so I don't usually buy any candy. My problem is the kids come home with so much of it I'm usually tempted to dig into their stuff. I'm determined this year to make sure it doesn't stick around too long....like until Christmas. And, I'm thinking I'm going to make myself do some sort of Spark Fitness video for each time my fingers work their way into the candy jar!
- 10/28/2008 12:57:10 PM

We hand out items from Oriental Trader every year. This year, it will be Halloween temporary tattoos. They are actually cheaper than candy and I feel better about handing them out.

As for my kids' candy, they pick a few favorites, then take the rest to a local orthodontist, who buys it from them for $.50/pound. Then they sit and write a thank you note to the troops and the orthodontist sends all the candy he's bought, plus the thank you notes to the armed forces overseas. It's a win/win! - 10/28/2008 12:15:54 PM

I can not eat candy at all so no problem. We have a lot of children come around so we have to have plenty on hand and giving out candy I don't like makes me feel bad because I feel like they won't enjoy it either.
- 10/28/2008 11:49:50 AM

We only get a handful of trick-or-treaters, so one bag of candy is usually enough to hand out. Whatever is leftover goes in the candy dish for our guests, goes to work with my boyfriend, or goes with ME to work to hand out to my co-workers or clients.
- 10/28/2008 11:44:11 AM

I do buy candy that I like since I know that many kids don't like what I don't like. I remember the year that my husband bought the candy -- stuff I didn't like -- and the next morning we found it thrown all over the sidewalk!!!

What I do is get the fun size bars and if there are leftovers, I limit myself to one per day. I am fortunate that I can do that!!!
- 10/28/2008 11:40:55 AM

It's out of my house and out of my face and into the work candy bowl first thing. All my coworkers are under strict orders that I'm on a diet and I cannot have any candy and they are to use whatever tricks or guilt-trips necessary to keep it that way.
- 10/28/2008 11:21:31 AM

At Walmart, I asked DH to pick out candy for the Trick-or-Treaters that HE LIKES and then got a box of individually-wrapped 100 calorie popcorn balls that I can have, one-a-day, IF we have leftovers. They are out-of-sight until the 31st.
- 10/28/2008 11:17:43 AM

Because I have a sweet tooth, my husband came up with a clever idea. We go out. In the past we had "date night" on Halloween and went to see a scary movie. We weren't home, so no buying treats for the night. Recently we have started going to Disneyland's Halloween Treat with friends (some of which actually have kids). You have a limited number of people there and most are lined up at the candy stations (they do have some healthy treats such as apple slices, carrots and raisins at these stations as well), so you can ride all the California Adventure rides with very little wait times. It is also the only time you can get into one of the parks in costume while they are open! So much fun. Last year I went as a Disney Bride. This year will be Little Red Riding Hood. Can't wait to see all the costumes and ride the rides.
- 10/28/2008 10:39:32 AM

We have over 400 come to the door each year so we are now stocked up. Hope we have enough.Nothing "healthy", just indivually wrapped treats. Sometimes we end up giving out change too. then turnout the lights. DH and I and Poochie sit on the porch . He hands out, and I keep him supplied. Poochie is in seventh heaven. He loves to greet them and they love him.
- 10/28/2008 10:29:57 AM

I am giving out Play-do for Halloween trick-or-treaters. I got a package from Costco with 50 little cans of it for about 10$. This way there is no candy in my house to worry about. If I had not found the play-do I would have gone to the Party Store and got a bunch of those little party favors like you give at a child's birthday party. I just don't want to buy candy at all.
- 10/28/2008 10:25:43 AM

The time I feel weak is in the grocery store, where they have placed candy at the front. I am waiting in line to checkout and I am surrounded. So far I have not purchased any. I figure I will do it the day of Halloween to end the temptation of eating it. If it's not here for me to eat, then I won't.
- 10/28/2008 10:23:59 AM

I wait until the last minute to buy candy and I will avoid buying any types of candy that I do like. I also try to give it all out so there isn't any left over at the end of the night.
- 10/28/2008 10:23:58 AM

As a diabetic I don't eat candy, so this isn't a temptation. But I am concerned about what I'm giving the kids. But then I don't want the apartment messed up with by disappointed kiddos. Might go the play doh route, might just get a mixed bag & hand out what I can. Hubby can take it in to work next week.
- 10/28/2008 10:22:34 AM

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